RECAP: The Los Angeles Kings were unable to shake off the after-effects of the two-day Christmas break until the third period on Friday night as they dropped a 2-1 decision to the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center; features post-game audio interviews.

LOS ANGELES — Perhaps they went a bit overboard with their Christmas holiday celebrations, or maybe they just drank too much egg nog.

On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Kings had one of their wishes come true…on the strength of first period goals by Raitis Ivanans and Patrick O’Sullivan, a third-period marker by Peter Harrold and 24 saves by rookie goaltender Jonathan Quick, they broke their four-game winless streak (0-2-2) with a 3-0 shutout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

The Kings are now home for the holidays, enjoying their time off with family and friends, just like the rest of us. In the spirit of the holidays, Frozen Royalty wants to know…

RECAP: Behind another strong effort, the Los Angeles Kings moved one game above the .500 mark with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild at Staples Center on Saturday afternoon; features post-game audio interviews.

LOS ANGELES — By this time last season, the Los Angeles Kings were, for all intents and purposes, already eliminated from playoff contention. But this season, believe it or not, they are still within reach of a playoff spot and they moved above the .500 mark after handing the slumping Minnesota Wild a 3-1 loss in front of a far more sparse-than-announced crowd of 14,857 fans during a matinee affair at Staples Center on Saturday.

With the win, the Kings are now 13-12-4 on the season, enjoying the rarefied air that exists above the .500 mark for the third time this season.

The Kings were one game above the .500 mark twice in November. Prior to that, the last time was September 9, 2007, opening night of the 2007-08 season. Read more of this post

SEASON PREVIEW: A comprehensive, detailed look at what might be for the 2008-09 Los Angeles Kings.

LOS ANGELES — Immediately upon being hired by the Los Angeles Kings as their new head coach on July 17, 2008, Terry Murray clearly stated that the top priority for his new team would be improving their defensive play, noting that the 2007-08 Kings gave up several boatloads of quality scoring chances and goals.

This new mandate could not have been made more clear on the first day of the Kings’ 2008-09 training camp. Indeed, when the players took to the ice for the first time, they saw five dots, a bit smaller than the face-off dots, painted on the ice in the slot, representing the “home plate” area Murray wants his players to focus on in terms of their defensive positioning.

Indeed, the Kings were atrocious in their own zone for the vast majority of the 2007-08 season and their goaltending was not much better. These two areas will certainly be keys to the success or failure of the 2008-09 Kings, who will have several young players, some of them rookies, in their lineup, raising serious doubt on the Kings’ ability to improve significantly upon their tied-for-last-place-in-the-league finish in 2007-08. Read more of this post

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